AS
the light in the gurdwara courtyard grew golden, an unusual meeting
took place between Baba Kirtan Singh, head of the Nihang Taran Dal in
Baba Bakala, and Dr Mohammad Rizwanul Haque, Secretary of the Central
Wakf Council, Delhi. The two men sat facing each other on simple
string charpoys to discuss their shared interests in a masjid built by
a Sikh Guru.

It was like observing master weavers at work as they interlaced two of the
many threads that make up the rich tapestry of India’s religious and
cultural fabric. Dr Haque sat leaning forward, listening raptly in order to
make out the wavering but urgent voice of the elderly Sikh.

Baba Kirtan Singh had come
prepared, bringing with him several texts of Sikh history, some written in
Gurmukhi and others in Persian script. He read from the records about the
Sikh Guru’s conversion of the house of a dead Muslim into a masjid and the
setting up of a langar for the poor. He also told of an encounter
between Guru Nanak and some Muslims that ended with the declaration that
"if Hindus are the left hand, then Muslims are the right, and we all
believe in the one true God." In this way, Baba Kirtan Singh skillfully
wove together the history of the Gurus and the present situation, the
preservation and maintenance of a place — the Guru ki Maseet in Sri
Hargobindpur— that is precious to both the communities

The maseet is
picturesquely situated on a hill overlooking a curve in the mighty Beas
river. After coming to the region in the early 17th century, Guru Hargobind
built temples, gurdwaras, and a masjid to accommodate the spiritual needs of
all the inhabitants. Since Partition there has been no Muslim population in
the area. In the intervening years, the care of the site was taken up by
Nihangs sent by Baba Kirtan Singh from his base in Baba Bakala, some 20
kilometres away. The present sevadar, Baba Balwant Singh, has been at
the site since 1984, clearing weeds, sweeping dust, preparing langar,
and fulfilling all the other obligations of his faith in service to the
Guru, his Baba, and the Sikh tradition.

In 1997, a survey team with
the Cultural Resource Conservation Initiative (CRCI) came to the town and
saw the maseet. Recognizing the value of the building, the group
began to undertake the restoration of the mosque as part of the UNESCO and
UNDP-UNV’s "Culture of Peace" programme, and with additional
financial support from the US-based Sikh Foundation.

However, some hurdles had
to be cleared. The area around the maseet had been encroached upon,
the hillside was eroding and needed shoring up, and the local residents
seemed largely unaware of this unique treasure and were not entirely
comfortable with the Nihang presence at the site. Furthermore, a bir
of the Guru Granth Sahib had been placed within the mosque and a Nishan
Sahib erected near it, making the building’s identity as a maseet questionable.

As the restoration work
began, the encroachment was cleared and the land cleaned up. A neighbour
donated a piece of land and further property was purchased by CRCI with
the assistance of UNESCO and the Sikh Foundation. Local residents
contributed their time and energy to the site by organising a large seva with
a langar that brought people from the entire region to the maseet
— to see it, learn about it, and help it survive. People who had
initially been skeptical or even afraid of the Nihangs began to learn about
their beliefs and practices and now frequently and unhesitatingly visit the
site to see the progress of the project.

Finally, a new space was
built and the Guru Granth Sahib was moved out of
the maseet. Various officials from the local Wakf Board, members of
the SGPC, MLAs and Members of Parliament have visited the maseet and
responded to queries from members of their communities who wished to know
about the status of the site. All
of these events culminated in the meeting on February 8 between
Dr Haque and Baba Kirtan Singh in order to determine the future of the Guru
ki Maseet.

The white-bearded elderly
man in the blue and white turban sitting on one charpoy with his pile of
books lovingly wrapped in cloth contrasted sharply in appearance, age and
religion with the much younger, clean-shaven man in western clothes perched
across from him. Yet at this meeting their unity of purpose and the similarity of
their thinking was equally apparent.

Seeking common ground, Dr Haque
had traveled a long and bumpy road from Delhi to Punjab to find Baba Kirtan
Singh at his gurdwara. Baba Kirtan Singh had also made
a long journey -- into the annals of Sikh history to discover precedents
from the past that would strengthen the bonds of the two communities. The
two men made great efforts to understand each other, to hear and be heard as
they discussed the ways in which both communities could simultaneously live
up to their interest and obligations to preserve and maintain the Guru’s maseet.
They were helped in speaking to each other across languages and
traditions by the translations of Punjab Wakf Board CEO Ikhlaq Ahmad Khan
and CRCI Director Gurmeet Rai. As the conversation proceeded in Punjabi,
Hindi and Urdu, the matter was clarified and an understanding reached. The
Guru had built a masjid.

As Baba Kirtan Singh put
it, "This maseet was established by our Guru. It is a maseet,
but it is as important to us as a gurdwara." Dr Haque echoed this
sentiment, declaring, "Your Guru built a maseet and it was his
intention that Muslims come and perform namaz there. There are no
Muslims now, but you (the Nihangs) have been preserving it very well and we
all want it to stay in its original form." Later Baba Kirtan Singh
stated that just as Muslims testify to the oneness of God, Sikhs say Sat
Sri Akal. He again assured Dr Haque and the other representatives from
the Wakf Board that they should not worry at all, the building would be kept
as a maseet, as the Guru had wanted.

If the Guru built a mosque,
it should be understood as more than a conciliatory gesture towards the
other community. It was an act of community-building by a leader whose Miri-Piri
sensibilities were steeped in the devotional traditions of Nanak, Baba Farid,
Kabir and Namdev. The masjid is not simply a place sacred in various ways to
these separate religions. It is an important symbol of the integrated past
and present of India’s cultural heritage.

The maseet as a Muslim
space also represents the deeply held principles of equality in Islam. This
value is visible in the structure of the mosque itself. The horizontal
orientation maximizes the proximity of the faithful to Mecca. It is further
evident in the accessibility of the space to all people. Everyone is welcome
here in a space that is designed to reflect the oneness of God and the
importance of community. There is no rule in Islam against the participation
of non-Muslims in the care of a Muslim shrine. On the contrary, there are
countless precedents for the collective custody of such places. The only
rules pertaining to who may or may not enter a masjid, or for that matter a
gurdwara, are rules of adab, or right conduct, by which one shows
respect to God, the place, and the assembled people, and oneself by entering
in a state of bodily cleanliness with a covered head, bare feet, and a
reverent attitude.

The crucial lesson to learn
from this encounter is that these two leaders made deliberate and sincere
efforts to meet each other, and to forge, rather than sever, the bonds
between their two communities. Instead of seeking precedents and principles
that would establish priority of their own claims and interests in the
property, both strove to find the events and ideas of the past that would
support their sharing of the maseet’s maintenance. In this way they
established that sharing the responsibilities that both groups want to
assume in the future care of the mosque is a fulfillment of the principles of
their faiths. They further demonstrated that this joint project was simply
one more example of India’s proud heritage of pluralism.

With the leadership of
people like Dr Haque and Baba Kirtan Singh and the support of the Muslim and
Nihang communities, neighbours, visitors, and benefactors, the Guru ki
Maseet has every hope of surviving and providing future generations with
yet another historic precedent for their efforts to live together in an
increasingly plural and diverse society.

With the sound of the
evening rehras permeating the air, providing a soothing sonic
background, an agreement to this end was reached — the Guru ki Maseet
is a mosque and should remain such, as per the wish of Guru Hargobind. The
Nihangs who have cared for and respected the site for so long would continue
to oversee its upkeep. The Guru Granth Sahib is in a
newly built room at some distance from the maseet.

The locals of Sri Hargobindpur, who take
increasing pride in their unique monument, will continue to support the
place, doing seva there and executing plans for a community centre
with a garden and library. Muslims who come are free to perform namaz. And
visitors from all over the world will have the opportunity to see the Guru
ki Maseet as a living example of the depth of India’s integration,
past and present.